Hardy and Lytle put on a tremendous showing at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in a predominantly stand-up bout that garnered Fight of the Night honors.

After getting the worst of the exchanges, Hardy shot in for a takedown late in the third round to try and nab some extra points from the judges. Lytle, an underrated submission artist, countered the takedown with a deep guillotine choke that forced the Brit to tap at 4:16.

The slippery slope began for Hardy after his lopsided unanimous-decision loss to welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 111. Since that fight, he has incurred consecutive losses to Carlos Condit, Anthony Johnson and Lytle.

The mantra in the UFC is usually three strikes and you’re out, but Hardy appears to be bucking the mold. If fighters are entertaining and put on good fights, there is always a chance the UFC keeps them around. While this sounds great from a fan’s perspective, it may not go over so well with other fighters.

The UFC can‘t sign every fighter in the world, and every dismissal usually opens the door for another guy. What about all of the other talent working hard to finally get a chance to breakthrough, but their entry is being blocked by Hardy?

As the UFC continues to grow and increase shows, this will become less of a problem.